Province bans future development in floodways

James Wood, Postmedia News07.14.2013

Fences surround homes deemed too dangerous to enter. High River residents were being allowed back into neighbourhoods over the weekend that have been closed for over three weeks after the Highwood River flooded 80 per cent of the town in southern Alberta.Lorraine Hjalte
/ Calgary Herald

Dan Lyons gets a container full of his belongings that firemen removed from his home. High River residents were being allowed back into neighbourhoods over the weekend that have been closed for three weeks after the Highwood River flooded 80 per cent of the town.Lorraine Hjalte
/ Calgary Herald

Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths, right, was on hand to make the government announcement in Calgary on July 14, 2013.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

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EDMONTON - In the wake of the largest flood in Alberta history, the Tory government announced Sunday a sweeping plan to move homes and businesses out of the areas most in danger and to flood-proof other areas at risk.

But many of the details of the province’s initiative have yet to be nailed down, and the impact on communities is still uncertain.

In a rare Sunday news conference, Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths announced in Calgary that the province will ban new development in floodways — the areas subject to the most destructive flows in so-called “100-year floods.”

The province will allow — and pay for — the repair and rebuilding of damaged homes in floodways, but it will not pay for damages from future floods on refurbished homes in those zones, he said. If a property owner chooses to relocate, the province will provide financial assistance for a new home.

Premier Alison Redford said in an interview that the government is trying to provide “the most choice with the least impact,” but acknowledged the policy will mean tough choices for some homeowners.

“There are people who have homes on the floodway that they love and we’re saying, ‘Really, if you want to choose to stay there, you have to understand there are consequences.’ That’s going to be hard for people to hear, but I also think that most people are going to realize that makes sense,” she said.

In flood fringe zones — the portion of hazard areas outside of the floodway — the government will pay for repairing or rebuilding homes affected by the recent disaster, but will require flood-proofing such as berms, water control infrastructure or raising the structure.

The government will pay an additional 15 per cent over replacement costs for flood-proofing measures on individual homes in some cases. In other instances, broader municipal flood mitigation efforts will suffice, but that will only be determined through consultation with municipalities, Griffiths said.

If no flood-proofing takes place, homeowners will not be eligible for disaster assistance in the case of a future inundation. Homeowners in floodways and flood fringe areas across the province who weren’t affected by the recent flooding won’t be relocated and will still be eligible for assistance in case of future flooding.

Griffiths acknowledged the province has no estimate of the number of houses affected by the new policy — though he says the amount located on floodways is small — or the cost involved. The Progressive Conservative government announced an initial $1 billion for flood relief and reconstruction, but said more money would certainly be needed for a disaster estimated as causing multiple billions of dollars in damage. The floods began June 20.

In Edmonton, some parts of Rossdale and Riverdale are in the flood fringe zone, while some new condominiums in Cloverdale are located in the floodway.

Ward 6 Coun. Jane Batty said while there is not much more land to be developed in Rossdale, Riverdale or Cloverdale, she is unsure how the announcement to ban new developments in floodways will impact housing projects planned for West Rossdale.

“I would certainly have to look at what the province has put in place ... Does that mean some of these projects that we’ve been working on for so many years are no longer viable?” she said.

Lynn Parish, community league president for Rossdale, said most of the high-risk flood areas are now parkland.

Those who do have homes in the flood fringe won’t be surprised after looking at the map the province has released.

“We’ve always known, anybody who built down here knew, that they were building in a one-in-100 year flood plain, we just know that, and there are specific regulations around where you could put the furnace in your house because of that,” she said.

What she is concerned about is a fire station on the river’s edge that was recently approved to be repurposed as a river rescue centre.

“Do we want to see pictures of our fire engines stranded in two feet of water if and when we have a flood here?” she said.

She added that city council was warned the fire station is in the floodway.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said there are differences in expert opinion over what areas should be considered floodways and what should be designated flood fringe areas.

“Our city is built at the confluence of two rivers,” he said. “We really need to know what we’re talking about here. We ended up evacuating nearly 100,000 people, a 10th of our population, and we really need to understand what the province is talking about when we use those terms.”

Nenshi noted that both the Bow and Elbow Rivers have carved slightly new courses because of the flood, requiring updates to flood mapping.

Griffiths said the province will use its existing flood hazard area maps, subject to some tweaking, to determine who falls where.

Griffiths could not say whether residents in floodways that choose to leave damaged homes will be compensated for their land, as well as the cost of their homes. He said the province will work with municipalities on a “case-by-case” basis on the issue.

“We fully understand these policies come with extensive considerations and while we don’t have all the answers to all the individual situations faced by Albertans today, we’re working as quickly as possible with municipalities to finalize the details,” said Griffiths.

Griffiths said the province will also require notification on land titles for properties in floodways and those in flood fringe areas that have not been protected against flooding.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith, who represents High River, said she wanted to see the government commit to investigating the causes of the flood.

But Smith said she is in agreement with the broad outline of the government’s plan.

“But what I worry about is that they’re putting almost 100 per cent of the blame and the responsibility on homeowners to solve this problem. In my opinion there are some big, important infrastructure decisions and mitigation decisions that need to be made by the federal and provincial and municipal governments.”

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